You Know What They Say About Assumptions
by The OC Architect
Summary: "They make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'." Oh yes. James Sirius Potter was quite the ass. At least he was admitting it. After all, admitting he was the problem was the first step. First step to what, you ask? The first step to one hell of a sixth year that I don't think either of us really saw coming.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** FEAR NOT. This is _not_ my story. I only edited this. I'm not starting another thing to try and juggle with all my current fics. A close friend of mine asked me to edit and publish this for her. She's terribly afraid of criticism and doesn't have a Fanfiction account herself. This is her first try at it, or so she claims. I told her she's being ridiculous because this is a good freaking read.

That being said, the only knowledge of the plot that I have is that is a James Potter II/OC story and there is a prequel, which...said friend...wants me to write. I haven't taken her up on it! But she's explained the idea and I like it...I dunno. Anyhow, since this isn't mine, please don't ask when updates will happen. I don't know. I only read and edit.

So uh, yeah. That's about it. Enjoy all you Potter nerds!

 **Rating:** T (cause she's paranoid).

 **Disclaimer:** Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

 **Editing:** All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

* * *

 _Prologue – Short Men, Giant Men, and Hidden Alleyways_

If the doorbell rings late at night, normally we would let it go. We had some rowdy neighbors who liked to play tricks and the McCalls aren't particularly night owls. We never have been. According to Mum and Dad, they both used to go to bed early, even in the apex of their teenage years. It must've been genetic or something because me and my two brothers liked to retreat to our bedrooms at eight o'clock on the dot every night. Mum and Dad would follow shortly after, around 8:30, or, if they were feeling rebellious, sometimes nine.

Well, that night happened to be a special night. It was mine and my brothers' birthday. The lot of us, we all shared a birthday. Me and my twin brother first, on the third of April in 2003, and then our little brother, who followed two years behind, in 2005. It was rather a hassle, according to Mum and Dad. Anyway, that night, we all went out to dinner, something we rarely did. We weren't wealthy by any means and Mum and Dad liked to keep us 'financially secure'. I wasn't quite sure what that meant at the time, being I had just turned eleven, but I understood that it dealt with money. Mum and Dad liked to make sure we weren't going to end up as tramps. At least, that's how Julian put it. After dinner, we went canoeing and then for a walk in one of the local parks. It was a nice April night. Nicer than we'd seen in a while.

My point is, we got home later than usual. It was going on 9:30 and I could tell our entire family was beat tired. Mum fell asleep promptly after we got into the car and Julian, my twin, who was as different from me as different could get, didn't even try to argue with me about watching _The Princess Bride_ on the way home. I think Stuart, the youngest of us, was just happy to be seated, because he complained about his feet during our entire walk in the park. Dad had to practically drag us out of the car to get us to go inside.

Just as soon as we'd gotten inside and Julian, Stuart, and I were halfway up the stairs, the doorbell rang. I, leading the troop, stopped and looked back, just as Julian ran into me, and Stuart ran into him. Stuart almost fell down the stairs, but Julian grabbed his arm and righted him before Stuart had the chance. I saw Dad frown and exchange a glance with Mum, who looked just as confused. I supposed it was kind of odd. We hadn't just then seen anyone outside, had we? I didn't think. I looked back at Julian to see if he was just as confused as I was, but the poor bloke was half asleep, wobbling on his stair.

The doorbell rang once more, followed by a rather urgent knock that sounded three times. My eyes followed Dad as he made his way to the door. He unlatched it and threw it open to reveal…well, an underwhelming gentleman who was quite short and stout. And by quite short, I mean he didn't even clear 160 centimeters. He had a bushy beard, rust colored hair, and was well-dressed, I think. Most of whatever he was wearing was covered by a black robe with a red and gold crest on its breast. I couldn't make out what it was as Dad blocked both the man and his strange robe.

"Erm, hello, Mr. McCall, Mrs. McCall." He had quite a deep voice, deeper than I would have expected. In the door, I could see the small man peek his head under my dad's outstretched arm and he eyed us on the stairs. His eyes lit up. "Hello, children!"

I waved slightly, but Julian's eyes were shut and I wasn't sure if he was even awake and Stuart was…well, he was out of it, to say the least.

"I apologize for the late visit, I didn't mean to get here at this time. I've made many deliveries today, if you'd excuse me. Anyway, my name is Professor Donner Hawkins. I come here on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And on behalf of two of your children."

Mum had turned white as a sheet as her gaze flickered between the little man and Dad.

Dad looked like he was trying to keep his composure as he glanced over his shoulder at the three of us on the stairs. "Holly, take your brothers to bed. Your mother and I will be up in a moment."

I wanted to argue, but I thought better of it and began to trudge up the stairs. My free hand latched on Julian's wrist to drag him after me and Stuart followed, dazed as he was. The boys went into their room and I went into mine. The boys' door shut instantly, lights already out. I knew both of them had probably fallen asleep as soon as they hit their mattresses. But for me, no matter how tired I'd been a minute ago, my interest had been piqued. What had the little man said? Something about pigs and skin infections and…and magic? Yeah, that's what I'd heard. Whatever the stout man had been talking about, I wanted to dismiss him as mad. But there was something about the conviction in our visitor's voice that didn't have me quite convinced and Mum and Dad's reaction wasn't the confusion I would have been expecting.

Dad always liked to say that curiosity was a good trait to have, as long as you didn't go too far with it. Mum, on the other hand, disagreed vehemently, saying that my curiosity would end up getting me killed. I decided I'd take my chances.

After I quickly changed into my nightgown and slippers, and brushed my teeth, I crept out of my room and sat at the top of the stairs where the adults wouldn't see me from the living room, which I assumed they were sitting in. For a second, I thought the little man had left, but I heard my dad's voice swill up the staircase a moment later.

"No. Absolutely not! I refuse to send my children to that crackhouse! You've no idea the pain your little school has caused my family!" he thundered. Now I'd heard my dad be angry before. Sebastian McCall was not to be trifled with when he was in a bad mood. Here, he sounded completely furious. I could almost picture his expression, the little vein in his neck bulging out like it did when he lost his cool.

Footsteps came from the direction of the kitchen and I resisted the urge to bolt, letting a quiet exhale out when the footsteps were cushioned by the carpet in the living room. I heard the sound of a mug clang on a coaster and the little man – what had his name been? Daniel? Dylan? – say thank you.

"So, Professor Hawkins––" my mum began.

"Please, call me Donner." (His name had been Donner, I put that in my mental notebook.)

"––Donner," my mother corrected. "Tell us more about Hogwarts."

"No, Lucy! Did you even listen to him? He's from _Hogwarts_ , love!" The way he said it, I'd've thought my dad knew exactly what Hogwarts was. "Dear, his school is the reason my brother…" Dad trailed off. "He's the reason Stuart's dead."

I frowned. Stuart was upstairs in bed unless he was talking about…oh. Dad was the oldest of three, a family of McCall boys. Dad, then Uncle Jacob, then Uncle Stuart. Uncle Stuart was the youngest. He died in a fire when he was just eighteen. So then…was the fire at this Hogwarts place?

"Please, Mr. McCall, you must understand. When Stuart went to Hogwarts, dark times were before the wizarding community. Young Harry Potter and his compatriots were searching for Horcruxes, Severus Snape had taken over the school as headmaster…it wasn't a good year. Voldemort had invaded the castle. Stuart was a noble student and I can assure you his life was not lived in vain. No, I've heard tales from him. He still wanders the school grounds, you know, helping first years and such. Your brother gave it all to rescue Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age. She's working as the Minister of Magic now!"

"Yeah," I heard my dad say bitterly. "I remember Hermione."

There was sympathy in Donner's voice. "I can see why you're hesitant. Stuart unfortunately attended Hogwarts when our school was more focused on the defeat of the Dark Lord rather than education. I can assure you now that Harry Potter has left and Voldemort has been killed, education is our primary focus! There is no place safer for a young witch or wizard."

"That's what the previous headmaster–what was his name? Dumbo-door? Yes, Professor Dumbo-door also assured my parents the same when they decided to send Stuart. My apologies if I'm not convinced."

"Hogwarts is a school where young witches and wizards are sent to hone their skills, all the while broadening their knowledge on the world of magic. It is the only safe haven for them. _Dumbledore_ ," Donner corrected, "did his best to protect all of his students, but he was killed as well. With the threat of Voldemort eradicated and Minerva McGonagall at the headmistress position, I can give you my word, Mr. McCall. Now, if I can begin preparing you, this is a year-round school, with a two-week Christmas break––"

Donner must've said something wrong because Dad went flying off the handle a moment later. I cringed despite myself. I had only been on the receiving end of Dad's wrath twice and it was not a pretty sight, nor an experience I wished to repeat.

"Now just wait one right moment!" I heard Dad say loudly, though I could tell he was struggling to keep quiet, most likely for our sake (or, more properly, for my brothers' sake). "What in hell makes you think that Lucy and I are going to send our children with you? The nerve of you to come in here, suggesting we send our kids to the place where my brother was murdered––"

 _Murdered?!_ I thought to myself. _What?_

"What my husband _means_ to say," I heard my mum interrupt (I could almost envision the sideways look she was giving my dad), "is that do we not have a choice?"

"I understand that you and your husband are on the fence. As were the sixteen other families I visited this past week, and you two _especially_ have reason to be worried, but you two _must_ trust me. Going to a muggle school is dangerous, and––"

" _What in bloody hell did you just call me_?!" My dad was right fuming now, I was certain.

"Muggles," Donner said hastily, "are people who cannot perform magic. It is not meant to be a derogatory term at all, Mr. McCall. Just a fact, sir." To Donner's credit, he barreled along in his speech about magic. "I know you think me insane to suggest sending your children off to a school where your brother…passed away, any mugg–er, normal family would. But yours _isn't_ , Mr. McCall! Your children, they have a gift. I strongly urge you let them attend Hogwarts, sir and madam. While you do have the choice, an unchecked wizard or witch can be quite the danger to society! Why, I've seen it happen! That fire in Liverpool just last week was the result of a young man–a boy, really–whose parents wouldn't let him attend Hogwarts! Of course, he was taken into custody by the Ministry, but––"

"So," my mum interrupted once more. I really wished she'd stop doing that, I was starting to like Donner (even though I wasn't even supposed to be listening and he kept going on about my dead uncle), "you're saying Hogwarts is our only option."

"I'm 'fraid so, Mrs McCall. I promise your twins will be in good hands." A flip went through my stomach when I realized, for certain, that Donner was talking about _me_. "The Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, a wonderful woman she is. Gifted witch. I trust her with my life. She lead the charge against Voldemort, herself. Stuart was one of her favorite students." I heard some shuffling before Donner spoke again. "Give these to Julian and Holly, will you? I don't want to keep you up any later than I have to."

"And if we have questions?" My dad, who sounded resigned and weary. "If I don't want to send my children to this wretched place?"

"Write me a letter, stick your head out the window, and call for Albert. He's an owl, blacker than night. I'm sure you know about owl post, Mr. McCall. We can go get tea sometime. I'll need a response soon though, sir, we need to begin making preparations. Do not wait too long, yes?"

There was a pause where no one spoke and I half expected Donner to yell, 'JOKES', and sprint out the front door. Instead, it was uncomfortably quiet. There was more ruckus that I recognized as standing up, and I hastily backed up the stairs behind the wall, poking my head just out to watch.

Donner opened the front door, my dad holding it for him, his other arm around my mother. "Remember," said the stout man as he turned around, "King's Cross Station at 10:15 in the morning, 10:30 at the latest. The train leaves at eleven sharp."

I didn't hear whatever my parents said in response because Donner caught my eye. I was about to jerk behind the wall, but he'd already seen me. I thought for sure he'd say something, but he didn't. Instead, a ghost of a smile, barely there, crossed his face. He winked at me and I could only grin in response.

I was lucky I looked up because I saw my dad's head turning. I pulled back quickly and retreated to my room, shutting my door softly. I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, nor did I hear Dad or Mum come up the stairs. Shortly after I'd nuzzled myself under my covers and made best to look like I was sleeping, my door opened. A shadow loomed in the corner of my room–two, to be exact. Mum and Dad's.

"What do we do, Lucy?" I heard my dad mutter. "D'you reckon that…that we send them? And what was that rubbish about Stuart on the grounds? Honestly…"

"He knows what's best for them, Sebastian," I heard my mother chide gently. "Come on, let's check on the boys and get to bed. We can call–er, we can _write_ to Donner. He said he'd answer our questions. I think this is what Stuart would have wanted."

"Yeah, I just…" my dad sighed. "It's mad. It's crazy."

"Oh, I don't know, Bash." I could almost see the mischievous glint in my mother's eye. "I think it's all quite exciting." And then my door shut and I was encased in darkness.

* * *

As it was, the McCalls didn't speak of Hogwarts ever again.

Okay, that was a lie, but it was a long while before I heard anything about it. Julian and I never got the letter that we were supposed to. My brothers were clueless, but a day didn't go by that I didn't think of the short little man, Donner, and his magic and Hogwarts and Uncle Stuart, who was murdered at this supposed school that Mum and Dad were thinking of _sending_ me and Jules to. Every time Mum and Dad went out for the day, I wondered if they were meeting Donner and learning about this school that trained young witches and wizards.

Of course, the morning after we got the visit, Stuart and Julian asked who he was. Dad and Mum acted neutral. Dad said he was just a representative from an uppity private school and Mum half-heartedly agreed, telling the boys that we might switch school districts. There were bursts of objection from both Stuart and Julian, and I threw my two-sense in for good measure to make it look like I was oblivious. Of course, inside, I was more excited than I'd ever been, except for the bit concerning Uncle Stuart. But this meant Dad and Mum were actually considering sending me and my brother to Hogwarts! Of course, I wasn't sure about little Stuart, since Donner had never mentioned him, but Julian and I were practically set.

After a heated argument between Mum and Julian about how he'd have to leave the football team and how he was certain he'd be the captain next year, Dad interrupted, declaring the conversation done with. Breakfast was quiet after that. Every few minutes or so, Julian would try to fire up the discussion again, but he was shot down by our dad's glare that sent daggers in my twin's general direction.

Once the initial day after was done with, the subject of switching schools was rarely brought up. I knew it was still an option though. Once a month, on the fourth, Dad and Mum would go out to eat with a 'friend', one they never would name to us. They told us he was from Dad's work. Dad was a prosecuting lawyer, so he made a lot of friends in high places. I suppose they wanted Julian, Stuart, and I to believe this 'friend' was another one of those. Julian and Stuart were daft, so I was sure that Mum and Dad's lies worked on them. I, however, was not a dimwit, so I recognized the pattern immediately. Once a month, the day after Donner visited, with an unnamed friend? I was almost _certain_ that they were meeting with him.

However, the guessing game stopped on August 5. It was the day after another meeting with their 'friend'. Mum and Dad called me, Julian, and Stuart into the living room. In Dad's rather large recliner, sat our old friend, Donner Hawkins. Mum and Dad were standing, looking more comfortable than I had seen them last time they spoke to Donner. In fact, Dad was _smiling_.

Donner stood up immediately when he saw us and smiled. He looked a bit different than the last time I'd seen him. His beard was trimmed and he wore a three-piece suit instead of those odd robes he'd been wearing last time. He even seemed a bit shorter, if possible.

When Julian saw him, his expression soured. "So we are switching schools then?" he asked as we came down the stairs. "Right tossers, you lot are," he grumbled behind me. I snickered to suppress my excitement. It was taking all I could to not lead on that I'd eavesdropped on the adults' conversation five months ago.

Once we were seated on the couch, Donner introduced himself to us as Professor Hawkins, which I supposed I'd have to get used to. I figured he'd ease us into it, but he wasn't very tactful. He wasn't tactful at all, in fact.

Professor Hawkins launched into a daring tale of magic and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was apparently the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Even though I'd heard some of it before, I hung on every word and I knew Stuart and Julian were as well because they weren't interrupting.

I wasn't sure how long Professor Hawkins spoke. I didn't really care, either. He talked about spells and the ever-changing staircases at Hogwarts and someplace named Hogsmeade and the magical creatures and something called Diagon Alley, where we were to get all of our supplies to attend Hogwarts. Hawkins patiently explained that while our parents, nor he would be able to accompany us to retrieve all of our supplies, he was going to send a close friend of his tomorrow to take us.

"Tomorrow!" Julian said excitedly. "My god, I can hardly wait!"

"Am I a wizard, Professor?" asked Stuart. His eyes were lit up and I'd never seen my brother so excited.

In response, Professor Hawkins only shrugged, "Perhaps! They don't tell me everything, boy! But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough!"

That answer seemed to suffice for Stuart because he just kept grinning along with me and Julian. Mum and Dad were even smiling. "We're happy for you guys," said my dad as he ruffled Julian's hair.

After explaining briefly about how to get to Platform 9 ¾ ("We have to run _into_ a brick wall?!"), Professor Hawkins handed Julian and I our letters. "You two must've not gotten these yet. These are your official invitations to Hogwarts, along with a list of supplies you'll need for tomorrow. I have a few more places to visit, so I must be on my way." He fixed Julian and I with a kind smile. "I look forward to working with you two this year." Professor Hawkins started to leave. He had our front door open when he turned around briefly. "Oh, and Miss McCall?"

My head snapped up from the letter that I'd taken from his hand. "Yes, Professor?"

"Being awake after hours will not be tolerated at Hogwarts," he said. Though his words were scolding, there was a playful tone to his voice and he was smiling. He winked at me and I realized he was talking about the time he'd caught me eavesdropping those few months ago.

I grinned back. "Understood, Professor."

Dad and Mum caught this exchange. Dad narrowed his eyes and his gaze flashed from me to Professor Hawkins a few times. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Dad could grill Professor Hawkins, the stout man looked at his wrist (where there was _not_ a watch, might I add), and said, "My, look at the time! I really must be going! I look forward to our classes, Mr. and Miss McCall! See you this fall!" And our front door slammed shut.

Dad and Mum rounded on me and I smiled sheepishly. "Gotta go," I said, "Letters to read, things to prepare!" I was upstairs in my room before either of them could react. Julian and Stuart had been hot on my heels. The three of us collapsed into my bed.

Gingerly, I tore open my letter from Hogwarts and unfolded it. It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall  
(Order of Merlin, First Class)

Dear Miss McCall,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted  
to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Terms begin on September 1. We await your owl by no later  
than July 31 _(which Professor Hawkins had assured us that he'd already sent)_.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall,  
 _Headmistress_

Julian and I looked at each other at the same time. Stuart, who had been reading over my shoulder, was the first one to speak.

"That's bloody _amazing_!" he all but shouted, and I couldn't help but agree with my little brother.

* * *

Turns out the personal friend of Donner Hawkins who was to escort Julian and I to Diagon Alley was Rubeus Hagrid, who was a huge brute of a man. The two could have been brothers, except the staunch difference in size. For his size and intimidation factor, Hagrid was a kind man who insisted on calling us by our first names and explaining every question we had more thoroughly than I thought Professor Hawkins could ever have. And trust me, Julian asked _a lot_ of questions (and made a lot of comments).

Hagrid showed us the secret entrance to Diagon Alley, which I thought was just about the coolest thing ever. Julian tried to play it smooth, but as soon as we started walking, I could tell he was as star struck as me. The shops' _names_ just made me want to go inside! Amanuensis Quills ("The first word sounds like a sneeze!"), Eeylops Owl Emporium ("Cyclops have their own _owls_?!"), Quality Quidditch Supplies ("What the heck is a Quidditch?") were all more exciting than the shop names in Wembley (and I honestly couldn't make up Julian's quotes if I tried).

After Hagrid had us stop at a large bank called Gringotts (to exchange our parents' muggle money for the wizarding currency), we visited the shops in order of the things we needed on the list of supplies that had come in our Hogwarts letter. The first place we stopped at was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Hagrid helped us find robes, a hat, and work gloves in our size, as well as winter cloaks for when it got cold.

As Hagrid and I looked for robes I was struck with a question. I folded up the cloak I was holding and said, "Hagrid?"

The large man was holding out a robe in Julian to see if it would fit. I wasn't sure if he'd heard me, but after he grunted, I knew he was listening.

"Who's Voldemort?"

Hagrid spun around, his dark eyes narrowed in my direction. I noticed the knuckles that were clutching the robe were white. "Where'd yeh hear tha' name?" he demanded. His voice turned harsh. I hadn't known the man for long, but I didn't think he got angry often and I'd just managed to piss him off.

I swallowed. "Professor Hawkins had mentioned him to my parents. He'd invaded Hogwarts, he said. Some boy named Harry Potter stopped him…and there was a fight at the school. One where…where our Uncle Stuart died."

"Stuart…Stuart McCall? Blimey, are yeh related to Stuart McCall?" Hagrid's sounded more surprised now.

"Yeah," said Julian, coming around the side of Hagrid to stand by me. "He was our uncle. Dad told us he died in a fire."

Hagrid's mood seemed to deflate. His eyes were glistening and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Stuart McCall…died in a fire. Rubbish, that is. Stuart McCall was one o' the bravest Hogwarts students ter ever live, I tell yeh. He was Head Boy with Hermione Granger in his seventh year, even though Snape was headmaster an' Death Eaters was watching the castle like hawks."

"Hermione Granger." I knew that name and frowned. "She's the…the minister, right?"

"Aye, she's the Minister o' Magic. One o' the youngest, I reckon. Brightes' witch of her age, they called her. Her and yer Uncle Stuart were very close. He saved her life, you know."

"That's what Professor Hawkins said. So…what happened?" I asked.

"Yeah, Hagrid, tell us!" Julian was absorbed in the story, as much as I was. Hagrid would be a good storyteller, I thought.

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably and began folding the robes we'd picked up. "Well…Voldemort was one o' the greates' wizards ter ever live. Great, yes, but terribly evil. His goal was ter eradicate Muggle-borns–such as yerselves–from the wizarding community. Albus Dumbledore, who some considered ter be Merlin reborn, formed an Order ter fight agains' Voldemort an' his followers, called Death Eaters.

"Voldemort killed many o' witches and wizard in his day, but his most famous attemp' was on young Harry Potter's life."

"Attempt?" Julian asked.

"Mhm. Yeh see, after Voldemort killed Harry's parents, he tried ter use the Killing Curse on Harry as well. Harry was jus' a baby but he _lived_. Scattered Voldemort's essence fer a bit. Voldemort didn't come ter a physical form again until Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts.

"In Harry's fifth year, Dumbledore's Army and The Order of the Phoenix came together to fight. Dumbledore was killed before the Battle o' Hogwarts, but his students an' Order would have made him proud. Anyway, it was in Harry's seventh year that the Battle happened. Voldemort invaded Hogwarts. There were a lot of casualties, but Harry managed to defeat the Dark Lord. He's a famous lad."

"And Uncle Stuart died during the invasion?" I said.

"He did. Protecting Hermione. Says he doesn't regret it a bit."

Julian frowned. "Whaddya mean 'he says'?"

Hagrid's face lit up. "Tha' would be the excitin' part! Yer uncle's a ghost on Hogwarts grounds now. Says he didn't wan' ter let go jus' yet."

"So Professor Hawkins was telling the truth!" I exclaimed.

"Are we going to see Uncle Stuart?" asked Julian.

"Yeh sure are, but on'y if we get all yer stuff! C'mon then, time's wastin'!"

We went back to looking for proper robes, and during that time, Julian and I witnessed two fistfights before a woman who I assumed was Madam Malkin split the two boys who were fighting apart. One boy with olive skin and dark hair that fell in his eyes was breathing heavily while the her, with light skin, but also dark hair looked quite smug. The darker skinned boy backed off as an older man with ginger hair and fair skin but the same facial features dragged him away to the dressing room. I thought I saw the man give the boy a high five when Madam Malkin turned away. A man loomed above the dark haired boy and the two looked remarkably alike. He looked as smug as his son as he steered him to the register.

Hagrid muttered something about snakes, I think, then hurried Julian and I along to fold up our robes and make our purchases. I noticed we didn't approach the register until the dark haired man and his son were gone. We didn't even go into the realm of the checkout area, in fact. I wanted to ask but as soon as we got into Flourish and Blotts, I was rendered speechless. Julian and Stuart had never been big readers, but I took after my mum. I _adored_ reading.

The bookstore was perhaps the largest I'd ever been in. It certainly didn't _look_ that big from the outside and yet the collection inside was amazing. I knew I was shopping for what were essentially textbooks, but I was still rightly fascinated. (Julian, on the other hand, must not have been, because I found him talking to a dark skinned girl and her mother while Hagrid toted around his collection of books.)

Once we got two copies of each required course book, which Hagrid put on a cart (where he'd gotten one, I hadn't the slightest), we headed to the Apothecary. Hagrid explained to Julian and I that it was a store for potion making which made Julian's eyes light up. We waited while Hagrid got Julian and I the basic potion ingredients and then went across the street while he got us a couple cauldrons.

"Let me see yer list, Julian!" bellowed Hagrid once he'd reconvened with us. His dark eyes scanned the paper and narrowed. "Well, yeh two on'y got yer wands lef'. After we get yer owls, o' course. Unless one 'o yeh wan' a cat or a toad."

Julian and I looked at each other. You know that 'twin telepathy' thing that mills about here and there? Well, Julian and I like to think we have it. Notice how I said _think_. We looked at each other than back at Hagrid. While I said 'owl', he said 'toad', which promptly started an argument.

"You have to be daft! You can catch a toad back home!"

"Don't be so critical, Holly, I could make a friend for life!"

After Hagrid quieted us down because he insisted we were drawing too much attention to ourselves (which, he was right, quite a few people stopped to watch Julian and I's row), he convinced Julian to get an owl. "They're righ' useful. They fly an' stuff an' deliver letters ter yer parents," he'd said.

In the end, Julian and I came out of Eeylops Owl Emporium with two gorgeous owls. They came from the same flock, both Screech owls, but while Julian's was a dark brown, mine was black and grey with golden eyes, a lovely combination.

The last shop we went to was a small, rickety place called Ollivanders. The gold lettering on the door was peeling and in need of a replacement. The inside was quiet and dusty. Boxes upon boxes were piled up everywhere I looked. Julian and I looked at each other and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. This place was old, but it had _meaning_. That much I could feel.

"Hello," said a soft voice. All three of our heads whipped up where a small old man was standing. There was something about him that reminded me of the shop he owned. Old and dusty, but powerful in its own way. "It's nice to see you Hagrid. Brought me some new prospects, eh?"

"Yessir, Mr. Ollivander. This is Julian and tha's Holly. McCall twins. Muggle-born."

Ollivander's silver-grey eyes sparkled at that. "Ah, twins! I love twins, always interesting to see their selection. Or rather, who selects them. And Muggle-born at that! Even more curious…any relation to Stuart McCall?"

"He was our uncle," I said.

"A bright wizard, he was. Cedar and dragon heartstring. Flexible, excellent charm work. Now then, which are the arms you write with?"

Julian and I each raised our right arms.

Ollivander pulled a tape measure out of his pocket and measured each of our arms. "I think I'll begin with Julian…" Immediately Mr. Ollivander moved away and the tape measure started measuring Julian by itself. I snorted as Julian squealed in surprise. Ollivander pulled several boxes off of the shelves and put them at Julian's feet. "You see, each wand of mine is different. Several types of wood, one of three very powerful substances, which are unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, and of course, phoenix tail feathers. All different, all very different. The wand must choose the master, children!"

When he turned back to the assortment of wands he said, "And now Holly." I only had a split second to wonder how he knew my full name when the tape measure flew off of Julian and wrapped around me, taking down various measurements.

"That'll be enough," said the older man and the tape measure fell to my feet at the same time as Mr. Ollivander set a box down next to me. I noticed while Julian had several boxes at his feet, I only had one. "Now then, Julian," he pulled out a wand and handed it to my brother. "Applewood and phoenix feather. Go on, boy, wave it," he said when Julian just stood there stupidly. No sooner had Julian lifted than Ollivander snatched it away, "No, no, how about this one? Chestnut, unicorn hair, nine and a half inches, stout." This wand, however, was not for Julian either as Mr. Ollivander swiped it from my brother's outstretched hand. "No, no, but this…this one…take it. Cedar and phoenix feather. Ten inches. Flexible."

The moment Julian's fingers curled around the wand, sparks flew from the top. Mr. Ollivander grinned, a small smile. "Perfect." He handed Julian the box. "A perfect fit."

When Ollivander turned to me, I felt my stomach do flip-flops. I hadn't realized how excited I was for this moment until I saw Julian's wand shoot sparks. Julian was grinning like a madman at me. He said, "Well, go on, Holly! Take it!" I hadn't even realized Mr. Ollivander was holding a wand out to me.

The older man was holding it gingerly. "I think…if my hunch is right, this is for you. This one's been waiting, I reckon. Fir wood with a dragon heartstring core. Twelve and a half inches. A very rigid wand." When I touched it, I felt a jolt go up my arm. Sparks flew from the top like they had with Julian's, but there was something different about them. I could feel these sparks from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Maybe because it was mine. I wasn't sure, but it was exhilarating.

"Stuart's was a cross with yours…how curious indeed," Mr. Ollivander had said.

Anyway, Hagrid paid Mr. Ollivander for the wands and Julian and I were escorted back home. Dad and Mum and Stuart greeted us, asking to see everything, which we showed them. Stuart absolutely loved our owls. Julian had named his Barney, which I thought was a dumb name, but I didn't tell him this. Julian seemed enthralled with his owl (and so was Stuart).

I named my owl Pepper because of his color. He'd already taken a liking to me on the ride home and had let me stroke his feathers. We were going to be the best of friends, I knew it.

Back home, even though we had just under a month before we had to go to Hogwarts for our first time, Dad and Mum made Julian and I pack immediately so we wouldn't forget anything and leave it behind.

And until August 31, Hogwarts wasn't even discussed. We acted like we were a normal English family. Well, around our parents, anyway.

Every night before I went to sleep, I pulled out my wand and stared at it. Though it never shot off sparks like it had in Ollivanders, I could still feel the power coursing through the stiff wood. It was mesmerizing, almost. Each morning I'd wake up still holding the ward and I'd have to hide it before my parents saw. I think they still secretly wanted to at least try to be normal, so Julian and I obliged. Well, we obliged as much as we could while taking care of two Screech owls.

But Julian confided in me that after Stuart was asleep every night, he'd sleep with his wand too. And I thought maybe, just maybe, the McCall twins weren't too different after all.


	2. Year One: The Hogwarts Express

**Author's Note:** Another chapter edited for you from my pal. She told me to ask for maybe a review or two and your thoughts on Romione (because of Stuart). So yeah. Enjoy, Potterheads!

 **Rating:** T (cause she's paranoid).

 **Disclaimer:** Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

 **Editing:** All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

* * *

 _The First Year_

 **The Hogwarts Express**

The morning of the first of September was almost surreal. Our entire household was awake at 8:30, bustling around, trying to get everything ready. Julian and I packed our trunks the best we could, including our new robes and all of our equipment we'd gotten from Diagon Alley. Pepper hooted softly from his cage, almost as if he knew what was going on. I could barely contain my excitement and I knew Julian was having trouble too. My twin and I had no time to even speak that morning because we were so busy.

After we showered and got ready, Dad and Mum helped Julian and I pack our trunks into our car. Dad did a quick sweep of the house while the rest of us waited and we were out of the driveway by ten.

"I made a call," said Dad in the car. "She'll meet us at the platform."

"She?" asked my mum.

Dad didn't say anything more, and I didn't have to be a mind reader to know that this was completely killing him to send us to Hogwarts. It was obvious to anyone.

The drive to King's Cross Station was short, painfully quiet, and we got there with plenty of time to spare. Locating Platform 9 ¾ was a challenge in itself, but we saw a small group of folks huddled like we were. The thing that really stood out were their owls as well, and I had a feeling these folk were just like us.

"…then you just run at the wall, mate!" said a girl with bright red hair. Not ginger, but _red._ She looked remarkably like an older gentleman that stood with her, who looked right bloody annoyed with her behavior. One of his hands rested on another girl's shoulder, but this one was reading a book and had more muted rust-colored hair.

I couldn't see who she was addressing because the group of people was quite large. And by quite large, I mean there were at least fifteen people standing around. All of them had similar facial features and quite a few had ginger hair. Every single one of them (except for the one reading a book and her father) had a crazy grin that I knew had to run in the family.

"Excuse me?" said my father tentatively, and I instantly wished she hadn't. In but a moment, seventeen or so odd faces (I'd counted) turned to look at us. My dad swallowed. "You're headed to Platform 9 ¾?"

"We are!" said a ginger man with fair skin, who I recognized almost immediately. He was the one who high-fived his son in Madam Malkin's, when the boy had gotten into a fist fight. He stuck out his hand, "George Weasley. This is my wife, Angelina," he gestured to a dark-skinned woman, "and our kiddos, Fred and Roxanne. And this," he said, sweeping his arm back to the large gathering of folks, "is our rather dysfunctional family. Well, some of them."

As my mum and dad shook the man's hand, the olive-skinned boy, Fred, looked at all of us. "You're Muggle-borns, aren'tcha?" he asked.

"Fred!" cried Mrs. Weasley, obviously horrified by her son's lack of tact.

"What, Mum, I was jus' asking!"

"Ah, erm, yes, we are Muggles. However we…erm, we were hoping we'd find some other wizards…you see, my husband and I can't…or, er, we don't want to––" My mum was stammering quite horrendously. She seemed to be overwhelmed by the rather eccentric family and I couldn't exactly blame her. The lot of them, with their red hair and wild grins, they looked to be right mad.

"Would you happen to be able to point me in the direction of Hermione Granger?" my dad asked, interrupting Mum.

A beautiful woman who looked to be my mum's age gasped softly. A man who looked remarkably like Mr. George Weasley had a protective arm wrapped around her, but she seemed independent herself. "Sebastian?"

My dad grinned softly, but his smile was tired. His eyes betrayed him; I could tell he hadn't gotten much sleep. "Hullo, Hermione. It's been a while."

Hermione Granger broke away from who I assumed to be her husband and hugged my dad. "It's Weasley now, but I suppose it'll always be Granger to you. Oh, it's wonderful to see you again. These must be your children…" Ms. Granger smiled at Julian and I, but her smiled slightly faltered when her gaze fell on Stuart. It was only for a fraction of a second, but I'd noticed.

"Oh, Bash…he looks just like Stuart," I heard her murmur.

My dad ruffled my younger brother hair. "He does. That's Stuart McCall II."

Stuart grinned. "Hiya!"

I could've sworn Ms. Granger was crying, but she turned her head to look at her family before I could tell or not. "Ron, dear, this is Sebastian McCall. Stuart's brother."

I could see Ron's–I suppose it'd be Mr. Weasley–jaw shift a bit at that. He stepped toward us and shook my dad and mum's hands. "A pleasure," he said in a gruff voice. It certainly didn't _sound_ like he thought it was a pleasure, but it wasn't my business.

"And these are the twins," Dad said, placing his hands on Julian and I's shoulders. "Julian and Holly."

Ms. Granger smiled at us. "It's lovely to meet you two. Are you excited to start at Hogwarts?"

Julian and I nodded so hard, I thought our heads would fall off. If all witches and wizards were as nice as Ms. Hermione Granger, it was going to be an absolute dream.

Dad seemed to relax a bit now that Ms. Granger was here, whereas Stuart was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So you lot are all real live wizards? Wow!" He looked to me and Julian. "Hear that, guys! Real wizards!"

Dad's hands braced themselves on Stuart's shoulders in an effort to hold him down. "I'm so grateful that you've decided to meet us here, Hermione. I know it must be hard, with Stuart and all, but I hope it's not too much of a problem to––"

"Help out your children? Of course not. I remember being in their shoes, you know. I think it's what Stuart would have wanted, don't you think, Ronald?" Mrs Weasley called back to where her husband was standing.

Her husband had moved away from us and was engaged in a deep conversation with a young boy, who only looked to be around six years old. Close by, a young girl who looked to be my age, or perhaps younger, looked annoyed. Mr. Weasley's head jerked up. "What? But…but Hermione, we just came to see the others off––" He broke off as Ms. Granger whipped around. "I mean, of course, dear! Isn't that right, Rosie? I-I mean, we'll wait in the car," he said hastily. He started muttering to his children before the three scampered off.

"If it's a problem––" My mum stared to say, but Ms. Granger waved her off.

"Ron's just grumpy I made him wake up early to see the rest of the family off. And he and Stuart had never exactly gotten along. Anyway, I love him, but he's daft." She fixed me and Julian with a look. "Are you two ready to go to Hogwarts?" There was a glint of amusement in her eyes that I saw a lot in my dad. The two would have been good friends if Stuart hadn't passed away, I'd think.

"Yes, ma'am," said Julian and I nodded vigorously as well.

"Well then," she clapped her hands together. "We best get going! And its Hermione to you kiddos. You might want to say goodbye to your family then. It's about time to get ready to go!" she said.

Before me or my twin could respond, there was a loud yell and I watched in stunned silence as Fred Weasley, pushing a cart with all of his things, began sprinting as fast as he could at the ticket booth. I expected a loud crash to ensue, but it never came. Instead, the air shimmered slightly before the pillar and the boy, cart and all, disappeared.

My jaw hung open as the rest of the Weasley family cheered. I looked at Julian to confirm what had just happened and he seemed as astonished as me.

"Blimey, he actually did it!" said the girl with the bright red hair, laughing. Her father still looked amazed that the girl, who was full of energy, seemed to be his daughter.

Ms. Grange–Hermione turned back to us, a smile on her face. "Are you two ready?"

Neither of us responded as Mum and Dad hugged us. I hugged Dad while Julian hugged Mum and then vice versa. Jules and I crushed Stuart in a hug from the both of us last and promised we'd write him letters as often as we could. That seemed to satisfy his excitement a little bit. Last, Dad hugged Hermione once more, and again, I swore I saw tears in her eyes.

Mum, of course, began crying as Dad held her. After our lengthy goodbyes were over, it was just me and my twin and Hermione Granger, the Minister of Magic, standing at the pillar. Dad and Mum and Stuart stood back, refusing to leave until we both were on Platform 9 ¾.

"Okay," Hermione began. "The first time is always the hardest."

"So," Julian scrunched his nose up. "We just run at the wall and hope for the best?"

"That's right," Hermione said. "It's scary, I know, the thought of running head first into a brick wall, but––"

Julian didn't give Hermione time to finish. He let out a yell, just as Fred (who Hermione told us was her nephew) had, and took off. I couldn't watch. Even though I'd seen Fred go through, and couple other Weasleys after that, I still didn't believe it. What if Julian and I weren't wizards after all? What if we couldn't get to the platform?

But lo and behold, Julian disappeared through the metal wall.

Hermione let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. "He's a Gryffindor, through and through. I know it."

"What's a…what'd you call it?" I asked, frowning as I tried to remember exactly how she'd pronounced the foreign word.

"A Gryffindor. There are four…oh, I'll let one of the kids explain it to you. Just write me, okay? Let me know if I'm correct," she said. "You seem like the most level-headed of the McCalls. A lot smarter than Stuart when I'd known him."

"So you…you knew my uncle then?"

Hermione got a faraway look in her eye and her voice was a bit choked when she spoke again. "Yes, I knew Stuart. He was great," she said wistfully. "I loved him, you know."

My jaw dropped. "You loved him?"

She nodded in affirmation. "I was the first girl your uncle took home to meet your grandparents. Send them my regards, would you?"

I nodded. "I…I will." I was still railed that Hermione and Uncle Stuart had been together. No wonder Mr. Weasley hadn't been the best of friends with Uncle Stuart.

"It's your turn, dear," Hermione said. "I'll be right behind you."

"And you're positive I won't run into the wall?" I asked, hating myself for the little bit of nervousness that seeped into my voice.

Hermione smiled at me, a kind smile that reminded me of my mother. My mother, who I looked at that was still standing with my dad. The two (and my little brother) caught my glance and waved, Stuart on my dad's back. "I'm one hundred percent sure you'll go right through that wall, Holly."

And that had been enough to convince me. Bracing one hand on the handle of my cart and the other on Pepper's cage, I squeezed my eyes shut and ran as fast as my legs could. Somehow, I knew when I was passing through. There was a strange sensation of nothingness until I broke through the other side. Suddenly I was thrust into a busy world. Voices exploded in my ears and a train whistle sounded. I opened my eyes slowly and could barely believe what I was seeing.

All around me, people (who I knew were wizards) bustled around, hurrying their kids to the huge train. It was sleek and black and one of the fanciest trains I'd ever seen. Kids my age and older were loading up onto the locomotive. Mothers, just like mine, were all crying as they sent their kids on for the first time. I barely registered my brother yelling my name in front of me. Only when he thumped me upside the head did I snap back to reality.

"Hey!" I yelped just as Hermione appeared behind us.

"Come on, Holly! We have to get a compartment with Fred!" Julian insisted. Just over Jules' shoulder was Fred Weasley, waving us on.

"Come on!" he yelled. His sister, Roxanne, and more people who looked remarkably like the both of them were standing around waiting for us.

I reluctantly followed behind Julian, Hermione hot on my heels. She joined the adults of the group as Julian and I blended (or tried to) with the rest of the Hogwarts students. Julian had taken up a spot beside Fred and another bloke. The three were already talking and I didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"Your brother ran into Fred as soon as he came out of the wall," said a voice beside me. I turned to see Fred's sister, Roxanne, and another girl with light skin and hair so blonde it was almost white.

The blonde girl snorted. "It was bloody hilarious. Should'a seen Fred, all red faced and ready to brawl. He was almost disappointed when he saw it was Aunt Hermione's friend's kid." She grinned. "I'm Dominque, but you can call me Dom," she added as an afterthought.

"Roxy," threw in Fred's sister.

I grinned at both of them. "Holly McCall. And yeah, Jules is a bit daft."

"We'd noticed," said Roxy. "So you're Muggle-born then?"

"Yep," I confirmed. "This is all new to me."

"Well, you'll have Dom and I. Even if we aren't sorted into the same house, you'll always have a Weasley close by," she said.

"Erm, yeah," I said as the train whistle blew once more. "What's all of this sorting business with houses and such?"

"We'll explain when we board," said Dom. "Give your cart to someone and get your things. Julian gave his to Uncle George."

A hand touched the handle of my cart and I looked up to see Hermione. She smiled at me. "Go on, get a compartment."

"Thank you," I said quietly, a bit overwhelmed by the woman's kindness. As I grabbed my trunks and Pepper's cage, I said, "You didn't have to do all of this for us, so…thank you."

"I wanted to. For Stuart. He was wonderful, tell him I said hello when you get to the castle, yeah? And now you'll have some friends for the train ride. Sounds good, right?"

I grinned. "It sounds amazing."

She pushed my shoulder a little towards Roxy and Dom. "Go on, then."

So I followed Roxy and Dom and Jules and Fred and the other bloke, as well as quite a few other Weasleys to the train. The older Weasleys (Molly and Lucy and Victoire, Dom named them) set off to find their own compartment. "Vic's probably going off to snog Teddy," Dom snorted.

When I looked confused, she said, "Teddy is Victoire's boyfriend. He's in his seventh year and she's in her fifth…a little scandalous, if you ask me."

As it was, a lot of the compartments were already full. I would suggest one here and there, but Dom or Roxy would take one look inside and say something like, "'Slither in' family," with a dark look and we'd trudge past. Fortunately, the three of us eventually found a compartment with only one person inside, who was curled up at the window, reading a book. Unfortunately, the compartment was right across from Jules' and Fred's and the other bloke's and two other boys. I loved my brother, I really did, and it was odd to be separated from him, but I knew he became…well, a tosser when he got with other guys. When Julian was with his guy friends, I figured there was no use talking to him, so I was incredibly grateful to have Roxy and Dom.

Roxy slid open the compartment door slightly and poked her head in. The girl looked up from her book, which I now saw was older, worn and frayed at the edges. "Erm, excuse us. Is anyone else in here?"

The blonde girl looked at us with wide, blue eyes before shaking her head and shutting her book. "Just me. You lot can sit in here, if you like."

Roxy and Dom went in first sitting opposite the blonde girl. I decided to sit next to her, extending my hand. "Holly McCall."

The girl smiled as she shook it. "Sawyer Stratton."

"Oi, and I'm Roxy Weasley, and that tosser is Dom!" threw in Roxanne.

"It's nice to meet you all. My older sister is friends with Molly Weasley, I reckon," she said. "Layla Stratton."

Roxy's eyes lit up in recognition. "Tall girl, dusty blonde hair? Quite loud, like Molly?"

Sawyer smirked a tad. "That'd be her."

Dom frowned. "I can't place her…Roxy, was she there for Lucy's birthday?"

"Yeah, she's the one who threw her cake at Molly and accidentally hit Louis."

Dom gaped at Roxy and I snorted at her expression. " _She_ started the birthday cake fight of 2012?"

"Sounds like my Layla," confirmed Sawyer. She turned to me, "And you…I don't recognize the last name McCall."

"I'm Muggle-born," I said, using the term that Fred had.

"Oh," said Sawyer simply. "Makes sense. I s'pose you do seem rather star struck."

I grinned sheepishly. "Is it really that noticeable?"

"I mean, for us, yeah," said Sawyer, looking to Dom and Roxy, who nodded in confirmation, "because we've been around this our whole lives. It ought to be exciting for you!"

"It really is!" I said. Then I remembered my question to Mrs Weasley. "What's a…a Gryffin-whatsit?"

My three new friends cracked a grin at that. "A Gryffindor, I think you mean," said Dom. "I'm, uh, not the best at explaining…"

"Gryffindor is one of four houses at Hogwarts," Roxy interjected. "The houses are sort of like teams within the school, I suppose. They compete for house points and the Quidditch cup. The whole thing is like one huge competition."

"The other houses are Ravenclaw, Slytherin ( _Slytherin_ , I thought to myself, _not 'slither in'_ ), and Hufflepuff. There are traits for each House and us first years are sorted as soon as we get to Hogwarts."

Just then, the train let loose a mighty whistle and we started to move. Instantly, Roxy, Dom, and Sawyer threw themselves at our compartment window, waving to their families. Our compartment door flew open a moment later as Fred and three other blokes pushed to our window as well, arguing with the girls. I caught Julian's eye and he grinned wildly at me. The grin reminded me a little too much of the trademark Weasley smile. _Oh, god, he's going to be just like them_ , I thought as I rolled my eyes.

The Hogwarts Express picked up speed and we were soon out of the station. As soon as we were gone, Roxy shoved Fred out of our compartment. She grabbed the bloke that Fred and Julian had been standing with earlier and pushed him too, saying, "You too, James!" The boy grinned at me, _me_ specifically, as he was shoved out the door. The other two merely followed, as they seemed to not want to be manhandled by Roxy Weasley.

"Right, where were we?" she as her and Dom sat back down. I was fighting back my laughter at her frazzled expression.

"Hogwarts Houses," said Sawyer, and I could see she was trying not to laugh as well.

"Right," said Roxy. "So Gryffindors are known for their bravery and courage and such. They're a rather wild bunch; my cousin, Molly, she's a Gryffindor."

"So is Layla," added Sawyer.

"Then there are the Slytherins," Roxy continued. "They have a _huge_ rivalry with Gryffindor. Dates all the way back to when the Houses were established. The lot of them are tossers––"

"Not true!" interrupted Dom, who looked at me. "Slytherins are known for being ambitious, which isn't always a bad thing. Dad told me the person makes the house, not the other way around. They can be cunning and a lot of them hold prejudice towards…well, towards Muggle-borns, but not all are like that. One of Vic's close friends is a Slytherin. Nice girl, her name's Clary Fox, I think."

I frowned. "Prejudice? Towards me?"

Roxy thumped Dom on the arm. "You weren't supposed to mention that part," I heard her mutter.

"Well, I had to warn her, Roxy, she can't go in blind!" Dom protested. "Just know that a lot of Slytherin families are pure-bloods, meaning they don't marry Muggles. They think you're somehow…lesser, I s'pose. Because you don't have Wizarding blood."

"It's not my fault!" I argued.

"And no one said it was!" Dom agreed quickly. "But…listen, if any of them call you a…" She looked around before she lowered her voice tremendously, "If any of them call you a Mudblood, don't you bloody _dare_ hesitate to hex them. The detention would be worth it. 'Sides, I hear it's not even that bad."

"What, detention?" asked Roxy. "What d'you mean it's 'not that bad'?!"

Roxy and Dom suddenly engaged in a friendly argument about whether or not a detention at Hogwarts would really be worth it when I felt Sawyer tap me on the shoulder.

When I looked at her, the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. "What's a Mudblood?" I made sure to say the word rather quietly because I had a feeling it could cause a lot of chaos if the right person heard.

"It's a derogatory term for a Muggle-born wizard. It implies that…well, that your bloodline is mud and unworthy of magic. It's very offensive in the Wizarding world, so your cousin was right. If you ever get called one…Layla says detention isn't so bad at all." Sawyer said with a grin. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, but she still looked a bit bothered by the whole subject.

I cleared my throat. "Right, so we were talking about the Houses?"

"Yes!" Sawyer agreed. "So, we've covered Gryffindor and Slytherin. The other ones are Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The Ravenclaws are your naturally book-smart people. They tend to have the highest grades and OWL scores. They're bloody brilliant. Witty, too." She must've noticed my confused expression when she said something about 'owls', so she said, "OWLs are the abbreviation for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. You take them in your fifth year. Sort of like standardized testing on certain classes."

I nodded along as Sawyer continued. "And then there are the Hufflepuffs. Fiercely loyal, some of the best friends you could make. Unfortunately, some of them tend to be quite shy, from what I've heard, and their Quidditch team tends to be shoddy at best…ah, well, Layla's boyfriend is a Hufflepuff, so I shouldn't be rude. But those are the four houses."

"And where d'you want to go?" I asked her.

"Ravenclaw," she answered automatically. "Gryffindor's too…well, the lot of them are insane, I reckon. Mum always told me I was the smart one and I love reading…I figure it'd be a proper fit, right?"

"Right," I murmured. My eyes went to the window, where the Hogwarts Express flew past…well, everything. How fast were we going, exactly? It didn't matter. I _was_ ambitious. Dad and Mum always told me it was a good thing to be ambitious, as long as I didn't take it too far. What if I was put in Slytherin? Oh, blimey, that'd be a disaster! A Muggle-born, in Slytherin! I could already picture the chaos.

"Hey, now, don't get all out there on me," said Sawyer. She bumped my shoulder with hers. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I already _know_ you aren't a Slytherin, so you'll definitely be fine!"

I snapped out my thoughts and offered Sawyer what I hoped was a bright grin. "You're right! I'm not worried at all. What was that one thing, you said the Houses competed in? Quidditch? There was a store in Diagon Alley with that in the name…what is it?"

Sawyer sat straight up. "Oh, _Merlin_ , you're a Muggle-born! You don't know what Quidditch is!" she practically screeched.

Roxy and Dom stopped talking, their jaws hanging open as they looked at me. They looked at each other, then back at me as they said, "You don't know what Quidditch is!"

They must've been loud enough because a second later, our compartment door burst open, revealing Fred, and the other bloke, James. "Did someone say Quidditch?" said James.

"Who're you?" I asked.

The boy straightened. He was tall, I suppose, with messy dark hair and hazel eyes behind a pair of thick, square glasses. "Cousin of the Weasley crew, James Potter the Second. I'm almost like my namesake, only much better looking."

Roxy snorted and I just looked at him. "And?"

He faltered slightly. "You really don't know who I am?"

"You'd think the confused look and the blank stare would have answered that for you," I replied, unable to contain the quip.

"Oh, Merlin," James Potter's eyes narrowed at me and he looked inconvenienced. "You're Julian's twin! Muggle-borns…y'know, forget I said anything."

I felt a flare of annoyance at the boy's flamboyancy. "How about I forget you exist?" I suggested.

This caused Roxy to snort again and Dom coughed to cover up a laugh. Sawyer just said, "And you might be a Ravenclaw yet, with that wit!"

James Potter frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Fred beat him to it. "Oh, shut up, James." Potter, in turn, frowned once more at his friend. Fred cut him off once more, "Anyway, what was that about Quidditch?"

"Holly doesn't know what Quidditch is!" yelled Roxy.

"WHAT?!" both boys practically screamed, and Fred immediately squeezed into the compartment, plopping down between Roxy and Dom. Potter (calling him 'James' just sounded too friendly and I didn't really like the bloke, okay?) stuck his arm into his own compartment, yelling, "OI! JULIAN!" and practically dragged Julian into ours. Jules fell beside me and Potter sat down on the other side of Roxy.

The Weasleys (and Potter and Sawyer) took turns explaining what Quidditch was. At one point, we'd gotten too loud because one of the older students, a handsome bloke with blue hair and a scruffy beard, poked his head in our compartment and told us to be quiet, but he didn't seem that concerned. He'd winked and waved at Dom. ("That was Teddy, Vic's boyfriend. He'd the Head Boy. Means he's kind of in charge of keeping the students out of trouble at Hogwarts.")

The boys were surprisingly good at explaining the game. They explained the three hoops on each side of the pitch were for scoring and there were three kinds of balls: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. Sawyer was the one to tell Jules and I about the different positions. The entire time, I was fascinated with the idea of the sport. It sounded like a bloody masterpiece!

By the end, Jules and I knew one thing for certain: we were _definitely_ going to play Quidditch.

"Oi, I'm gonna be the best bloody Keeper Hogwarts has ever seen!" Julian shouted triumphantly. He'd been the keeper for football at our old school and he _was_ pretty good. I didn't have the heart to tell him that blocking _three_ hoops on a _flying broom_ was probably a lot more challenging than blocking a net on the ground. He'd learn that on his own, I figured.

The upsetting thing about Quidditch at Hogwarts though was that we'd have to wait until our second year to even try out. And even then, we weren't guaranteed a spot on the team. As a result, the lot of us (well, me, Jules, and Sawyer) decided to study the game as much as we could at Hogwarts. We were determined to be on the team.

After a rather loud discussion about a Quidditch team called Puddlemere United, someone again poked their head into our compartment. This time, the someone didn't seem too friendly. Fred Weasley instantly jumped to his feet, but Potter and Roxy grabbed him by the arm. Fred glared at the boy, who was backed up by two others. "Why I ought'a jump you right here," he snarled.

I recognized the dark haired, pasty boy as the same boy Fred had been fighting with in Madam Malkin's shop. He was with two others, both as nasty and ugly as he. The boy at the head laughed. "Easy, Weasley," he taunted. "I think I see a Slytherin prefect. Wouldn't want to lose House points before you're even sorted!"

"What d'you want, Flint?" sighed Dom.

The boy, Flint, fixed his dark eyes on Dom. "Can't I drop in to see my favorite family of gits? Dad told me all about you." His eyes scanned around the compartment before stopping on me and Julian. "Well, well…you two aren't Weasleys. Or Potters, for that matter." His eyes widened. "Oh, don't tell me! Weasleys! You guys are mixing with Mud––"

"I'd finish that carefully if I were you, Flint!" growled Roxy, who'd released Fred to grab draw her wand. Fred, now free, had gotten his own wand, along with Potter.

"I'll hex you to hell 'n' back," threatened Fred.

Flint, still laughing, didn't finish what he was going to say, though I knew what had been coming. Even though I barely understood the idea of 'pure-blood', my throat burned with shame. Maybe I didn't belong? Me and Julian, we barely knew what was going on! I couldn't bring myself to face Flint and his goons.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, I thought you Weasleys would at least stick to your blood. Though that Granger was an exception, Dad says––"

"FLINT!" roared Fred. He lunged for Flint, but Julian caught his arm and yanked him back while the Slytherin boys laughed.

"Toodles, Weasleys! Potter! We'll see you around!" called Flint as he backed down the train the way he'd came, his buddies in tow.

"Marshall Flint," declared Fred as soon as he'd seemed to calm down, "is a massive prick."

"Language!" said Roxy as she slapped her brother's arm, but she certainly didn't argue, and no one did either. Marshall Flint _was_ a massive prick.

Our compartment had quieted after that. None of knew exactly what to say, but I found myself talking after a second. "Thank you," I said quietly. Six pairs of eyes fell on me. I swallowed. "You guys didn't have to defend us," I continued, addressing Roxy and Fred, specifically, and even Potter. "But thank you."

"Oi," said Fred, rubbing his arm where his sister had latched on to him to hold him back, "no one deserves to be treated that way. You and Julian deserve to be here as much as the lot of us, and everyone on this train. Flint can shove it up his––"

"Fred is right," interrupted Roxy, tossing her brother a glare. "You guys are special, even more special than us. We were born into this. You guys…it's like the magic _chose_ you. I'm glad you're here, Holly. You too, Jules."

Julian and I shared a smile and quietly murmured thank you. The compartment lapsed into silence again, which was odd since there were seven of us in there. It didn't last however, because a young woman with a cart rolled up. The cart was full of candies and cakes and pastries that I'd never heard of before, but Julian and I were ready to spend money on whatever they were. We both were starving; I'd even heard Jules' stomach growl.

Before either of us could do anything, however, Potter yelled something about 'chocolate frogs' and launched himself at the cart. The result had been the cart tipping and spilling on the ground, a stern look from the woman, several apologies, and the realization that being friends with the Weasleys (and Potter and Sawyer) was probably going to be one hell of a ride.


	3. Year One: The Sorting Ceremony

**Author's Note:** Chapter Numero Tres edited for you from mi amigo, who has requested to be named as PM, her initials. So read, review, follow, favorite, and most importantly, enjoy!

 **Rating:** T (cause she's paranoid).

 **Disclaimer:** Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

 **Editing:** All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

* * *

 _The First Year_

 **The Sorting Ceremony and Marshall Flint's Broken Nose (The Git Deserved It)**

The ride on the Hogwarts Express lasted most of the day. At some point, Fred, Julian, and James Potter had gone back to their compartment, leaving Roxy, Dom, Sawyer and I. We'd talked in circles for a while, like girls tend to do. Most of the conversation consisted of how Marshall Flint was a jackoff and Quidditch. Of course, the two subjects were entirely unrelated, but somehow we found a way to talk about both.

We attacked the load of sweets we'd bought from the trolley. Roxy complained for several minutes about how she didn't get any new chocolate frog cards ("Uncle Harry again?!"). I swear, Dom bought the cart out of all their pumpkin pasties and Cauldron Cakes. Sawyer was a fan of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, but I just didn't trust them. 'Every flavor' sounded kind of dangerous. I stuck with my chocolate frogs and licorice wands. Every once in a while, Dom would pass me a Cauldron Cake, which were incredibly tasty.

The train finally came to a stop sometime in the evening. It had made an announcement to leave our things on the train and we did, getting changed into a set of our robes. We all got off of the Hogwarts Express and made our way over to where none other than Rubeus Hagrid was yelling.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere! Follow me!" We all followed Hagrid down a narrow path to a small fleet of boats that sat on a glass lake. Ahead of us was Hogwarts. I felt my throat close up. It was _amazing_. The castle was gigantic. It reminded me of the Dark Ages and the castles of Scotland. Mum had always wanted to visit some of the castles. There was a room in our house, a small one, dedicated to her travel plans. I knew in an instant Mum would have fallen in love with this place.

The moment I thought that, a voice muttered in my ear, "Mum would be so jealous."

I turned and grinned at Julian, who was smiling just as brightly. Even in the dark, I could make out his pearly white smile. "Don't tell her," I muttered back.

"No more than four ter a boat!" Hagrid called.

"Bloody convenient there's four of us," Dom muttered to me as she climbed into one of the small dinghies.

"Is everyone in then?" Hagrid was ahead of us in a boat all to himself. "Alrigh' then! Forward!"

And the small fleet of dinghies began moving across the lake, disturbing its peace. Everyone was quiet, even Fred and Julian and James Potter's boat. There was something about the monstrous size of Hogwarts that had intimidated all of us, I think.

Once we'd all gotten to shore and dismounted, we waddled up a massive flight of stone stairs to the door. Hagrid knocked and the door swung open at once. A little man that I recognized as Professor Hawkins opened the door. He grinned brightly at all of us. Today, he wore red and gold robes and his beard had grown out once more. "Come on in then, let's all get inside!"

The inside was as gorgeous as the outside. The ceiling was too high to make out and torches illuminate the Entrance Hall. Marble staircases led to the other floors and pictures in the portraits on the wall were _moving_ , making Julian let out a muffled, "Blimey!" though I heard. Professor Hawkins led us to a smaller room off to the side, just before a large doorway to the right.

"Alright! Welcome to Hogwarts, first years! My name is Professor Hawkins, though I'm sure some of you know that. In a few minutes here, the Sorting Ceremony will be starting before the banquet in the Great Hall. Now, I know, most of you know how it works, but let me clarify some things!

"The Sorting Ceremony is when you will be…well, for lack of a better word, _sorted_ into your House here at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, your House is your team. It's your family. You will sleep in dorms with mates in your House, you will have classes with your House, you will hang out in your House common room, or the inter-House common room, which was added to provide a bit of unity. You will compete against the other Houses throughout the school year for House points. Good behavior will result in winning points, while breaking rules will result in losing them. At the end of the year, one House will win the House Cup, which is a tremendous honor!

"The four Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. It would do you all well to remember that no one House is better than another! Each one has a history of brilliant wizards and I expect you all to treat each other well, no matter what the sorting!" Professor Hawkins paused. "I'll be back in a moment. Stay here and try not to roam off." He disappeared through the huge doors.

The first years broke into excited chatter. Julian combed his fingers through his hair and I straightened my robes. Just then, something nearly transparent appeared. With a blue tint, he was more visible if I tried to focus on the figure indirectly. He came straight through one of the walls and let out a yell. "OI! NICK! I FOUND THE FIRSTIES!"

Another figure floated out of the wall to come beside the first. "Honestly, they're in the same place every year, Stuart."

I met Julian's eyes, then focused on the first apparition. He was young, only eighteen like Mum and Dad had said. He looked exactly like he had in pictures. He had a sharp jaw, unkempt hair, which I knew to be a very dark chocolate brown, and a twinkle still in his eyes, which would have been the color of the whisky, a warm gold-brown color. A wide smile was on his face and his arms were crossed across his broad chest. He wore slacks and sneakers and a white standard shirt with his sleeves rolled up and tie pulled loosely away from his neck. Just like in the picture of him hanging in the living room back at home.

"Blimey, Holly…that's Uncle Stuart," Julian breathed next to me.

Uncle Stuart and the ghost dubbed Nick were talking to some of the first years in the back.

"So who wants to be in Gryffindor?" I heard Uncle Stuart yell.

Hands went up in the air and Nick rolled his eyes. "Don't get them riled up, McGonagall will have your head."

"Bet'cha wish she had yours so you could get into the Headless Hunt, huh, Nick?" Nick just scowled and Uncle Stuart chuckled. "Besides, McGonagall's getting old. She'll be McGonagone soon."

Even Nick snorted at that.

Then Julian had to open his big mouth. "Stuart McCall?"

"OI! Who called my name?" Uncle Stuart floated over directly above me and Julian. He stabbed a finger at Jules. "It was you, wasn't it! How d'you know my name?"

Julian seemed to have frozen, his mouth hanging in shock. Uncle Stuart waved a hand in front of his face. "Is he gonna be alright?"

"He'll be fine, Julian is daft," I said quickly. "Erm, I'm Holly and that's Jules. Holly…Holly McCall," I said.

The alcove was still noisy with the talk to the first years and Nick, but Stuart the Ghost fell silent. "You're…you're McCalls? Sebastian's or Jacob's?"

"Sebastian's. Julian and I recognized you from the pictures. And…Hermione says hello." I recited. "She hopes you're doing well."

Uncle Stuart seemed wistful at the mention of Hermione, but a small smile graced his lips. "Hermione…I miss her. You can tell her I'm doing quite fine for a ghost confined to the halls of my old school. It's rather fun, actually. You can also tell her to make an excuse to stop down here. I know she's busy with the Ministry, but…she could stand to make some time for me."

"Um…" I said.

"Anyway! So I'd be your uncle, then right? Blimey, that's weird. Weird that Bash has kids, I mean. Bloody odd to think of him as an old bloke. So you're wizards then? Congrats! It's the most fun you'll ever have!" said Uncle Stuart.

I was about to respond when the big double doors opened and Professor Hawkins scurried over to us. He scowled at Uncle Stuart and Nick. "Stuart! Nick! Get in the Great Hall, the ceremony's about to begin!"

Nick waved goodbye and floated off, while Uncle Stuart put on a show and mock saluted Hawkins. Then he proceeded to do a back handspring through the wall beside the double doors.

Professor Hawkins rolled his eyes and grinned at all of us. "It's time, first years! Line up, let's get moving!"

So we all got into some sort of line. I stood in front of Jules and behind Dom, who was still sneaking me Cauldron Cakes from her robe pockets. Professor Hawkins led us into the Great Hall and my breath was taken away once more. Four long tables lined the hall we walked up, filled with students who were muttering quietly amongst themselves. Another table that was horizontal to us sat a bunch of older folks, who I had to assume were the professors. Thousands of floating candles illuminated the hall and the ceiling…well, I wasn't sure if there was one. It looked like that starry sky that we'd all been under in the row boats.

Professor Hawkins led all of us first years to the front where another teacher placed a stool in front of us. On the stool was an old, miserable hat that looked like one from a wizard costume. Hawkins stood in front of us then and removed a piece of parchment from his robe. It looked like an old fashioned scroll as he rolled it out, and it was long enough that it hit the ground and kept going.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the frayed hat on the stool opened at the brim…and began to sing. I was too startled to even process his words. He sang on and on for a few moments before the brim shut and the hat went still. The tables burst into applause and after Julian and I exchanged a look, we clapped as well. For a second, I wondered if the both of us were going out of our right minds.

Professor Hawkins cleared his throat then as the clapping died out. "When I call your name, come and sit, put the hat on. You'll know which table to run to when they explode into applause. Abernathy, Edward!"

A pudgy boy with a shock of bright blond hair stumbled forward and sat on the stool. The moment the hat touched his head, it yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and went silent once more. One of the tables exploded into cheers and applause and Edward Abernathy waddled over to them.

I realized with a start that Hawkins was probably going in alphabetical order. And I would be before Julian…oh, lord.

"Baxter, Kayleigh!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Names continued to be called and I got increasingly more nervous. "Calloway, Jackie" became a Hufflepuff, as did "Davies, Karleigh". "Fletcher, Aubrey" became the first Ravenclaw.

And so the Sorting continued.

"Flint, Marshall!"

It was no surprise that the moment the Sorting Hat touched the slimy git's head, it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Fletcher, Kyle" became another Slytherin, "Jordan, Lance" became a Gryffindor, and to be frank, I lost interest for a while. Until my name was called.

"McCall, Holly!"

I stumbled forward as Jules pushed my shoulder a bit and Dom patted me on the back. I sat in the chair and nearly jumped a mile high when I heard the hat's voice in my ear.

"Well now, aren't you an interesting one? Smart, yes, very intelligent. Loyal to a fault to her friends. Brave, though in your own way. And well…you're very ambitious aren't you? You could do big things in any of these houses, any one at all, especially Slytherin, eh…?" My throat closed up and the hat spoke again, "…but I'm afraid your wit outmatches everything! Better be RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled the last the last word and a table of blue and bronze deafened the Great Hall with cheering and applause.

Relief exploded in my chest as I went over to sit with them until realized I didn't exactly know any one of them. Lucky for me, one of the older Weasleys, the quiet one, Lucy, beckoned me over. I sat next to her awkwardly. She smiled at me timidly. "Welcome to Ravenclaw," she muttered. "I think you'll like it here."

I smiled back and looked up just in time to hear Hawkins yell, "McCall, Julian!"

Jules walked to the front of the Great Hall nervously. I could tell he was, because he was fidgeting with his hands as he sat down. It was a nervous habit of his. The hat was quiet as it sat on his head. It felt like ages before it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Julian scampered off to a sea of red and gold. Jules caught my eye and grinned at me. While I grinned right back, I couldn't suppress my disappointment. I would miss my brother for sure, but I knew he wouldn't have been a Ravenclaw. He was too much of a pillock for that.

I listened to the names, but I only perked up again at the mention of Potter.

"Potter, James!" The arrogant prat swaggered up to the stool. I didn't really have a reason to dislike Potter, except for the fact that he _was_ an arrogant prat, but that didn't stop me. I liked his cousins, but there was something about James Potter that rubbed me the wrong way. The moment the hat touched his head, it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" I don't think it was a shock to anyone, really. Potter sat down next to my brother and the two high-fived as they were accepted by the masses.

Again, I waited until Hawkins called, "Stratton, Sawyer!" The Sorting Hat took its time with Sawyer before hollering, "RAVENCLAW!" and she scampered over to sit next to me. Her blue eyes were wild with excitement. "We did it, Holly, we're Ravenclaws!"

I grinned right back. Maybe not having to deal with Julian wasn't going to be so bad after all.

The Weasleys were up soon, which I had also been waiting for. After "Thomas, Ashley" became a Gryffindor (they were really adding to their ranks), Fred and Roxy were up.

"Weasley, Fred!"

To no one's surprise, the pair were made Gryffindors and ran over to join Julian, Potter, Molly, Victoire, and several others that I'd met on the Hogwarts Express. It was kind of disheartening really, to see them all having fun together.

"Don't stress about it," muttered Sawyer, and it was weird that she understood. "Ravenclaw's a great house. You'll see."

Last was Dom.

As Hawkins called, "Weasley, Dominique!", Dom trudged to the front and sat down, Sorting Hat on. If I thought the hat had taken a while with Sawyer, it took _forever_ with Dom. She seemed to pale slightly as she heard whatever words the Sorting Hat was mumbling in her ear before letting out a yell that shocked everyone in the Great Hall to silence. "SLYTHERIN!"

No one spoke. Not a word was uttered. The only thing to be heard was…nothing. Then the muttering started, which mostly came from the Slytherin table.

"A Weasley? In Slytherin?"

"Is this a joke?"

"Well, she doesn't _look_ like a Weasley…"

Then thunderous clapping started from the Weasley corner of the Gryffindor table, led by Fred, Roxy, Potter, and Victoire.

"THAT'S MY BABY SISTER!" Victoire yelled while Fred and Potter and Roxy cheered excitedly. This must've got some of the nicer Slytherins in some kind of mood because a bunch started to cheer, right along with Weasleys (and Potter). Everything was nice and dandy (and Lucy Weasley beside me muttered something about one hell of showing of inter-House unity) until some git had to open their big mouth.

"OH, YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING!" Marshall Flint was standing next to a rather large boy who looked like a giant. He also looked like a toadstool, but I felt like it'd be rude to mention that first. They both had the same greasy dark hair and beady eyes. Dom had just sat down at the Slytherin table and from where I was sitting, I could see her face was a bright shade of pink.

"A _WEASLEY_ IN _SLYTHERIN_? Professor, there has to be some mistake!" yelled Flint. "Come _on_! Weasley blood doesn't _deserve_ to be in Slytherin! They mingle with _Mudbloods_ , for Merlin's sake, there's no way––"

That was all the farther Flint got. Dom was up in a flash, striding over to Flint. Her fist connected with Marshall Flint's nose and the dark-haired boy went down. Dom must've looked menacing enough because the toadstool backed off.

The uproar in the Great Hall almost blew my eardrums out. People were on their feet in an instant, wands out, ready to hex the Slytherins (mostly Marshall Flint) to hell. Even I was on my feet, anger thundering through my veins. _That git!_ The Slytherins were on their feet too, but they looked uneasy. None of them had wands drawn and most, to my shock, looked more interested in talking down the situation rather than a school wide duel. I'm pretty sure there were even a few Muggle-born Slytherins because they continued to send dirty looks toward Marshall Flint, who was still stunned on the ground.

"THAT IS _ENOUGH_!" yelled a woman. Her voice was louder than the entire Great Hall combined. The woman was at the head of the table of professors. She had graying hair and elegant emerald robes with sharp features. She seemed to be in charge. I assumed this was the woman who was the Headmistress. Professor…McGonagall?

"I'm not sure what in Merlin's name has gotten into you, Mr. Flint, but that was _very_ out of line! Twenty points from Slytherin!" The entire table groaned. "And you, Ms. Weasley!" McGonagall's stern face gave way a bit into grudging respect. "Twenty points for defending yourself and the Muggle-borns!" The Slytherins all seemed instantly relieved by that. "Mr. Flint," the toadstool flinched, which meant there was _another_ Flint, "take your brother to Madame Pomfrey, and do _not_ come back. I'd like to see him in my office before the night's end.

"Now that you've all seen what happens when you break the rules…disrespect to your fellow student and your professors will _not_ be tolerated! If I hear a single one of you utter that…that _vile_ word that Mr. Flint did, I will not hesitate to strip your House of fifty points and give you a weeks' detention! You've been warned."

The Great Hall was silent as Professor McGonagall's harsh expression softened only a fraction. "Now that that little display has been taken care of…welcome to the 2015-2016 year at Hogwarts! Let the banquet begin!"

Instantly, the dishes before us were piled high with heaping helpings of food. Potatoes, chicken, steak, corn, everything I could have ever wanted. Not to mention the desserts such as pie and cake that looked absolutely to _die_ for. I looked over my shoulder at my brother where he was digging in. He caught my eye and grinned widely, mashed potatoes smudged on his face. "This is bloody _amazing_ , Holly!" he called, spraying gravy across the table and earning a slap from Roxy.

I laughed and shook my head before turning and scooping my own helpings onto my plate.

"That brother of yours…he's a bit strange," said Sawyer.

I looked over at her and snorted. "Oh, you've _no_ idea."


	4. Year One: Babysitting Sophie Wyatt

**Author's Note:** Short one. PM says the lack of reviews is disturbing, but she's glad people are reading. Enjoy, you Potter-nerds!

 **Rating:** T (cause she's paranoid).

 **Disclaimer:** Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

 **Editing:** All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

* * *

 _The First Year_

 **Baby-sitting Sophie Wyatt (Honestly, the Girl _Does_ Have the Bravery of a Pygmy Puff)**

Hogwarts was everything I'd ever dreamed of and more. Sawyer and I tended to stick together with everything we did. Our dorm had us two in it and two other Ravenclaw first years, Madison Knight and Sophie Wyatt. The two were as different as different could get, which made rooming with them a bit of a challenge. (Sawyer says 'a bit' of a challenge is an understatement, but I honestly don't think they're that bad.) They're also the best of friends, which I find exceptionally odd.

Seriously, though. I didn't think there would be any excessively wild students in Ravenclaw, but I supposed I was wrong. Madison Knight was absolutely bonkers. She drank a lot of coffee, even though she was only eleven, and stayed up into the ungodly hours of the night to do her homework. She told us she'd almost been sorted into Gryffindor, but apparently she was crazy smart, which was proved our first week of classes. The girl excelled at…well, everything. She was Muggle-born like me, and also like me, she found all of the classes fascinating. The two of us tended to do homework together because Sawyer liked to set hers aside until the last second. She never did bad though, per se, so she was okay with it.

Sophie Wyatt, however, was quiet and shy. She was the type to get eight hours of sleep a night, she woke up at six to read, and I swear I caught her doing yoga once. We rarely saw her around. The only time we did was usually breakfast, dinner, and when we came in to the dorm to go to sleep. I sat beside her in Potions on the first day when Madison had called dibs on Sawyer. Of course, the Ravenclaws had Potions with the Gryffindors. According to Lucy Weasley, we used to have it with the Hufflepuffs until Professor McGonagall got sick of one too many potion explosions in the joint class between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Anyway, the Potions Master, Professor Howell, had called on her after we reviewed the basic uses for Flobberworm Mucus. Her exact words were, "I have the bravery of a Pygmy Puff, please don't," and then she promptly passed out. Long story short, Professor Howell felt quite bad and Fred Weasley and James Potter had to support Sophie all the way to the infirmary. And _I_ had to make sure she was okay. He must've assumed we were mates since I'd sat by her, but I'd barely said two words to Sophie Wyatt. Of course, that didn't matter, so to the infirmary I went with Fred and Potter and an unconscious Sophie.

"D'you reckon," grunted Fred as he helped support one side of Sophie Wyatt, "that we'll get House points for this?"

"We'd better," Potter said. "Seriously, what did this girl have for breakfast?"

The boys kept complaining while I stayed slightly ahead, walking briskly to the infirmary. Uncle Stuart stumbled upon us, took one look at Potter and Fred, then floated out of the hallway after he offered me a knowing grin. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could stand Fred and Potter together. The two whined like children. I finally snapped when Potter cracked a joke about Sophie losing a bit of weight. "Would you two _shut up_?" I snapped, whipping around.

Fred's head snapped back. "Oi! Your ponytail caught my eye!" he yelped.

Potter hefted his side of Sophie as he just sent a glare at me. "Why don't _you_ try carrying your friend, McCall? She's not as weightless as she looks!"

"Or maybe you two are just whiny gits," I said, rolling my eyes. "Honestly, we're almost to the infirmary, I think you'll both be fine."

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Potter. "You aren't the one holding up half of Wyatt's weight."

But both boys stopped complaining. Once we reached the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey whisked Sophie away from us. When Fred and Potter went to leave though, she flicked her wand and the infirmary doors shut. "You two are staying here until we're certain she's alright. Just go on, have a seat!"

My eyebrows wrinkled together. "But, Madam Pomfrey, we have to get back to class, Professor Howell wanted us back straight away––"

But Madam Pomfrey just glared at me which made my mouth snap shut. I trudged over to the waiting area where Fred and Potter had already resigned. My arms crossed over my chest and I sulked there. My first day of Hogwarts, already ruined by a girl with the bravery of Pygmy Puff! What the heck's a Pygmy Puff?!

I scowled and my expression must've looked right angry because Fred said, "Oi, Holly! What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"What the hell's a Pygmy Puff?" I grumbled.

"Miniature Puffskein," said James Potter, like that cleared _everything_ up.

"I'm Muggle-born," I reminded him shortly.

Potter just rolled his eyes, like I wasn't worth his time. "Honestly, McCall, why can't you be more like Julian? The bloke doesn't ask _half_ as many questions as you…"

"You're such a wanker," I muttered and Fred snorted.

"A Pygmy Puff is like…it's like this little pink or purple fluffy ball that rolls around and squeaks and such. Right annoying, they are. Roxy had one when she was younger. Dad brought it back from the joke shop 'n' I swear, Mum was ready to toss that thing out the window," said Fred.

"Cheers," I told him with a half-grin. However, I glared at Potter. "See? Why can't you be a nice bloke, like Fred?"

"Oh, bugger off, McCall," Potter grumbled lowly.

Fred sent his cousin a look and elbowed him in the arm. "Hey, _both_ of you can't be in a bad mood. What's got _your_ knickers in a twist?"

"I'm sitting in the bloody infirmary because a girl passed out when Professor Howell asked her a question! Fred, d'you reckon I _want_ to be here?"

"Would you rather be in Potions?"

"Kinda!"

Fred's expression was one for the record books. He wrinkled his nose as he looked at his cousin. "You…you _what_?! Mate, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, come off it. It's interesting, alright?"

"The basic uses of Flobberworm Mucus is…is interesting?" Fred sat there, his jaw hanging open, until he let loose a howl of laughter. And by howl, I mean _howl_. Fred sat there, dying in his chair. He stomped his feet and couldn't keep still, and I swear I saw a tear slide down his cheek. His infectious laugh even had me chuckling, until Madam Pomfrey stuck her head out from behind the curtain her and Sophie had gone behind and angrily told us to quiet down.

Potter had his arms crossed over his chest, scowling immensely. "It's not funny," he was saying. "'Sides, it's not like I'm interested in other classes. Just…Fred, c'mon, mate, think of the kinds of potions that we could use from pranks and such!" Fred was still snorting, just quietly. "You're a right tosser, Fred Weasley. When you're coming to me for potions for pranks, you won't think it so funny anymore!"

Just that moment, Madam Pomfrey came out from behind the blue curtain once more. "She's waking up. Once she's completely conscious, she'll be fine to leave."

The woman walked off briskly, presumably to her office (or to tend to other students, though I wasn't sure how they landed themselves in the infirmary on the first day of classes). I hoped there weren't others like Sophie Wyatt.

Potter, Fred, and I went behind the curtain where Sophie was sitting up now, rubbing her head. "Blimey…what happened?"

"Professor Howell asked you a question––" I began.

"And you keeled over," finished Potter with a slight smirk.

I was afraid that James Potter even acknowledging Sophie was going to make her faint again, but instead she just paled severely and keep her eyes firmly placed on me. "Right," she said quietly. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your classes. You're Holly, right? We're rooming together."

I nodded. "That's me. Sorry about Potter and Weasley," I apologized. "Someone had to carry you here."

"They carried me?!" Sophie's voice was an octave higher than it had been a moment earlier. "Oh, Merlin…can…can we go back to Potions now?"

"Sure, Sophie," I replied. I sent a pointed look to Fred and Potter. Potter just glared back at me, but Fred seemed to understand. He shoved Potter's shoulder and the two scampered out of the infirmary before Madam Pomfrey could stop them for whatever reason. The woman was quite overbearing, I had an inkling.

I helped Sophie out of bed and we followed off after Potter and Fred. Luckily we made it out before Madam Pomfrey could say anything to us either. Unluckily, classes had just been dismissed as we made it out of the infirmary and down the hall. Sophie and I got caught in the sea of older students as they made their way out of their classrooms. I latched onto her hand as I dragged her through the masses with me. Of course we were pushed around being first years, but we managed to get out and somehow run right into Sawyer and Madison.

Madison bombarded Sophie with questions and I still didn't understand their friendship. From the moment we'd all decided to room together, Madison had seemed to take Sophie under her wing. The two got along brilliantly even though they couldn't have gotten any more different. Madison whisked Sophie away, the two engaged in a deep conversation about what we'd missed in Potions.

"So how was it?" asked Sawyer as we walked in the opposite direction.

I shot her a look. "How was what?"

"You know. Dealing with Fred and James. And Sophie," she added as an afterthought.

I rolled as my eyes as we shoved past some gossiping third years. "Fred and Potter are absolute prats, but I think the both of us already knew that."

"Well, _duh_ , Holly, but what did you like…y'know, talk about?"

"Well, Potter is apparently quite fascinated by potion making," I said. "He was rather angry when we were pulled away from class."

Sawyer glanced over at me and when she saw my serious expression, she let out an unladylike snort. "You're not yanking my chain? James Potter has a thing for potions?"

I shrugged in response. "Said something about using them for pranks. I'd watch our backs."

"Watch our backs? C'mon, Holly, you don't _really_ think James Potter could prank us? The bloke's as stealthy as a water buffalo! As intelligent, too! He'd trip over his own two feet before he'd manage to get the drop on us."

I grinned. "You're right. Fred and Potter…they're dolts, aren't they?"

"Quite. C'mon now, we're going to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's in the North Tower, I reckon. Classroom 3C."

"How _do_ you remember all that?"

Sawyer just grinned at me. "I'm a Ravenclaw. It's what I do."

I rolled my eyes in response and followed after her.


	5. Year One: Gryffindor v Slytherin

**Author's Note:** PSA: PM is driven by reviews. She was so excited, she typed this out in a night and sent it to me straightaway. I've just read it through and...I love Quidditch. I know more about Quidditch than actual sporting events. But I digress. Enjoy, Potter-nerds, and drop more reviews to get these chapters out!

 **Rating:** T (cause she's paranoid).

 **Disclaimer:** Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

 **Editing:** All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

* * *

 _The First Year_

 **Gryffindor v. Slytherin (Julian is Going to Get Himself Expelled)**

The second weekend of November was when it finally started snowing at Hogwarts. Not a lot, just flurries, really. The second weekend of November was also the first Quidditch match. It was Gryffindor against Slytherin, and I swear no one, not even the players, were more nervous for the match than Julian, Fred, and Potter. Just before the game, Sawyer and I found the boys in the inter-House common room, furiously scribbling on large pieces of poster board.

"Oi, James, d'you reckon Jessie Wood prefers to go by 'Jessie' or 'Jessica'?" I heard Fred ask.

"Jessie," Potter responded. My brother followed up with, "Jessica sounds like a mouthful."

"What are you twits doing?" Sawyer asked as she threw herself into one of the armchairs.

I draped myself across the loveseat, taking a bite from the licorice wand I'd been gnawing at for the past few minutes. "Yeah, those signs look like they've been made by children."

Julian glared up at me. "It'd do you well to remember we _are_ only eleven, Holly. We practically are children."

"Then why in your right mind d'you think you can impress Jessie Wood? She's a sixth year! There's no way she'd give any of you blokes a second look."

Sawyer snorted. "McCall's got a point, Weasley."

Fred just scowled. He didn't even bother to look at us as he continued on his sign which read in absolutely dreadful bubble letters "NOTHING CAN GET PAST JESSIE WOOD". I didn't know Jessie, but I knew she was popular within the Gryffindors. Her dad, Oliver Wood, was the Keeper for Puddlemere United until he'd retired and become the coach. Jessie was the Gryffindor Keeper, and Molly Weasley insisted she was better than even her father.

"It's not even witty," Sawyer said airily.

Fred slammed down his quill. "That's _it_! If you think you're so bloody intelligent, why don't _you_ make Jessie her sign?"

"Because, dear Fred, _I'm_ not the one trying to snog Jessie Wood. I believe that'd be _you_."

Fred turned a bright shade of scarlet and Potter and Julian snickered. Upon Fred's glare, both Potter and my brother coughed and became _very_ interested in their own posters, which were basic ones that supported Gryffindor, not an individual player.

"Is it really so hard to believe a nice girl'd take interest in me?" Fred asked, addressing the question to his cousin.

Potter glanced up from his poster, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Erm, of course not, Freddie, but…you have to admit…Jessie Wood _is_ sort of out of our league. She's pretty, she's smart, she's a bloody good Quidditch player, and well…you're just…Fred."

"And what's the s'posed to mean?!"

Potter quickly turned a bright shade of red and stammered to cover his mistake, "Nothing, nothing at all! I just mean we're a little young for her and I reckon Jessie Wood's dating that fifth year bloke from Ravenclaw. Their Seeker. What's his name, Holly?" He quickly looked to me and so did Fred. In Potter's eyes, I almost saw him _begging_ for help.

I looked back to Fred who gave me a look that said, _Well, McCall_? "Our Seeker is Ashton Comstock, right handsome bloke. I wouldn't be surprised to see the two together."

Fred's face fell and he frowned. "Well…well, it's fine, right? We have your signs, don't we, mates?" He took one look at his poster and got up, shrugging on his winter cloak. "C'mon then, don't want to be late for the match." Fred was gone before any of us could speak.

"I'll talk to him," muttered Julian, who scrambled to his feet and snatched his poster, scurrying off after Fred Weasley.

That left Sawyer, Potter, and I. Potter ran a hand through his dark hair and sat back on his haunches. He reluctantly met my eyes. "Thanks, McCall," he said grudgingly. "I owe you one. I don't think Fred'll be too cross with me." He picked up his poster as well as Fred's. "Are you two headed to the match?"

"No, Potter, we're just dressed for winter because we feel like it," sniped Sawyer and I snickered.

Potter rolled his eyes as he pulled on a red and gold beanie hat. "Bugger off, Stratton, it was just a question. Don't you Ravenclaws know how to be civil?"

"So you want a truce then?" asked Sawyer with a raised eyebrow as we followed Potter out of the common room. I could tell she wasn't convinced. Last week, Potter and Fred had hidden a Dungbomb until Sawyer's seat at the breakfast table. Needless to say, the lot of us Ravenclaws who had gotten to breakfast late decided to skip the most important meal of the day.

Potter tossed a smirk over his shoulder. "Of course not."

"Then don't expect any kindness out of––" Sawyer broke off as she realized that Potter wasn't listening. "He's a prick," she decided.

I didn't disagree.

* * *

Sawyer and I caught up with Julian, Fred, and Potter in the Quidditch stands. They had mingled in with the other Weasleys, as well as a few others. I recognized Teddy Lupin, Hufflepuff and Head Boy, with his bright blue hair and scruffy beard, his arm wrapped around a girl who bore an incredible resemblance to Dominique, who I assumed was Victoire Weasley. Speaking of Dom, she was engaged in a conversation with Roxy a few seats away. Molly and Lucy and a few of their friends had made their own signs, which were much more professionally done than the boys'. Julian had sidled up next to Riley Finnegan of Gryffindor and was grinning like an idiot as Riley laughed at something he said. Fred was sulking while Potter tried to cheer him up. Sawyer and I pushed past Julian and Potter, who stuck his tongue out at me as we passed. I thumped him on the forehead and left him behind before he could begin to complain.

"Sawyer! Holly!" Dom hugged us when she saw us. The only classes the Ravenclaws had with the Slytherins were Transfiguration and History of Magic, which we all fell asleep in, even us Ravenclaws. We saw Dom enough outside of class, but during them, it was bollocks that we didn't get to see her often.

Roxy hugged us too, even though I reckon we saw her every other class. The Ravenclaws shared a large number of their classes with the Gryffindors, which was most likely because when Slytherins and Gryffindors mixed, fights and duels tended to break out. I figured Professor McGonagall assumed that if she put the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins together, there wouldn't be as many problems. I could attest to that, as I knew quite a few Hufflepuffs. They were as laidback as laidback could get.

"What're you doing over here, Dom?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be cheering on Slytherin?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm in their House doesn't mean I get along with the lot of them. Or want their Quidditch team to win," she added. "Lexie was going to come over with me, but she didn't want to be surrounded by Weasleys. Said it'd get awkward since I'd be surrounded by family and whatnot, and our parents were never exactly the best of friends." Lexie Zabini was one of Dom's closest friends in Slytherin. She was a nice girl, we'd studied in the library once together for Transfiguration. She was like Dom in the sense that she was only a Slytherin because she was ambitious and anxious to prove herself. Other than that, the girl was nothing like the pure-blooded gits that Slytherin House usually took in.

I was about to say something about how Lexie could've sat with us, but I was interrupted by the beginning of the match.

"Goooooooooood afternoon, Hogwarts, and welcome to this year's first Quidditch match!" said voice with a thick Scottish accent over the microphone. "I'm your announcer, Tracey Weller! Joining me will be Lance Jordan, your announcer-in-training, if you will!"

"Hullo!" came a young boy's voice, one a recognized to be in Gryffindor.

"This afternoon's match is between Gryffindor and Slytherin, what a riveting match it'll be, I must say. I hear Slytherin has a new Keeper and Seeker, so that'll be interesting to watch, eh, Jordan?"

"Aye, Weller, I believe this'll be one for the books."

As Tracey Weller and Lance Jordan had been speaking, below us, the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams were mounting their brooms on the pitch. The Seekers were already in the air, head to head. Madam Hooch, the Quidditch referee, who I thought should have been retired, was speaking to the teams. After a harsh blow of the whistle, the brooms were in the air and the match began.

"And Lane Ritchie gets his hands on the Quaffle, the Slytherin captain, good chaser, kind of a git––"

"WELLER!"

"Right, sorry, Professor. Ritchie passes to Annabel Bletchley, a rather good Chaser as well, say Slytherin has quite the team this year––"

"Right you are, Weller, rather a shame really, the lot of them are tossers––"

"JORDAN!"

"Oi, sorry, Professor, just thought I'd throw in my two-cents––"

"And Bletchley gets slammed with a Bludger directed by Andrew Hooper, dropping the Quaffle right into Thomas Chang's outstretched hands! And its Chang to Aimee Matlock, Matlock to Gryffindor Captain Ian Winchester, and Winchester makes the throw – Ooh, and the Quaffle is knocked away into Bletchley's hands, who is apparently fine, and she takes off! A throw – blocked by Jessie Wood, ace Keeper, she is! Wood throws the Quaffle to Matlock, who dodges a Bludger and drops the Quaffle to Chang, and Chang breaks away! What a great Chaser, Thomas Chang, brilliant to look at as well––"

" _Tracey_!"

"Sorry, Professor – GRYFFINDOR SCORES! What a brilliant toss by Chang! And the Quaffle's back in play, Slytherin hands. Bletchley to Ritchie, Ritchie to Troy McAllister, McAllister throws it at the hoop…! And Slytherin ties the game, ten to ten."

"Bloody hell – Sorry, Professor – What a game we have going here, Weller – and the Quaffle's in Gryffindor hands! Chang to Winchester, Winchester back to Chang, Chang to Matlock – Ooh, and Matlock is blasted with one nasty Bludger sent by Jimmy McCandless, a brilliant hit, I must admit," grumbled Lance Jordan.

"The Quaffle nearly hits the ground, but its juggled by Troy McAllister, who tosses it up to Bletchley, who throws it in the air and spins, knocking the Quaffle with her broom across the pitch into Lane Ritchie's hands! Ritchie throws – Ritchie scores…and that's twenty-ten, Slytherin." I could hear the disappointment in Tracey Weller's voice.

"COME ON, JESSIE!" I heard a voice yell and I could barely suppress my laughter when I saw Fred Weasley, waving his sign like a madman. Julian and Potter were holding up their signs along with him, grinning. "BLOCK THE BLOODY QUAFFLE!"

While the game was going, it was some miracle that Jessica Wood somehow heard Fred screeching like a banshee. She looked at our stand, saw Fred's sign, and I could see the smile from here. Jessie Wood must've been as good as the rumors had it, because Annabel Bletchley chucked the Quaffle at one of the hoops, but Wood looked away from Fred, Potter, and Julian's entourage of signs and knocked it away with her broom into the waiting hands of Ian Winchester, all the way across the pitch.

"And Winchester scores, tying the game once more! This game is shaping up to be quite the match-up, eh, Weller?" roared Lance Jordan.

"Aye, Jordan, and come on, who _doesn't_ like to watch Ian Winchester? The bloke's a bloody masterpiece, good genes he's got––"

" _I'm warning you, Weller––_ "

"Right, right, my bad, Professor," but Tracey Weller didn't exactly sound apologetic.

The game went on like that most of the match. One would pull ahead and the other would tie it right back up. It was like a bloody tennis match, as back and forth as it was. The score came to ninety to one-hundred, Slytherin up by ten.

"Where the hell's the Snitch?" I heard Dom yell over the cheering.

"I reckon we're about to find out!" replied Roxy. She pointed. "Look!"

"Chang to Winchester to Chang again, and back to Matlock––"

"OI! DONOVAN OF THE SLYTHERIN TEAM HAS SPOTTED THE GOLDEN SNITCH!" Jordan interrupted.

Slytherin's Seeker, Ricky Donovan, had taken off after the Golden Snitch, something we couldn't even see from the stands. Alice Lovelace, Gryffindor's Seeker, a nice seventh year, I think, was right on Donovan's tail, not letting him get out of reach. The two knocked into each other on their brooms and I could barely stand to watch! They were quite high off of the ground and if one of them fell…well, I didn't want to think about that.

"LOVELACE PULLS AHEAD AND GOES INTO A NOSEDIVE!" shouted Jordan over the microphone. "Boy, that girl looks good in a Quidditch uniform––"

" _Jordan, if you are anything like your father––_ "

"Sorry, Professor, I do tend to take after him – AND LOVELACE PULLS UP AS DONOVAN CRASHES INTO THE GROUND, what a mark that's going to leave!"

"I reckon that was a Wronski Feint pulled just now by Alice Lovelace, always knew that girl was great Seeker, makin' her best friend proud! GO ALICE!" cheered Tracey Weller.

We could all hear McGonagall's resigned sigh over the microphone as Lance Jordan took over again. "Lovelace reaches – she reaches – she reaches – Merlin's beard, that girl has long arms – LOVELACE HAS DONE IT! She's caught the Golden Snitch! A hundred and fifty points to Gryffindor and they've won, 240 to 100! What a match, though I'm not surprised at all! Dad says Slytherins do tend to be on the awful side––"

" _Jordan, if you can't be impartial––_ "

The microphone shut off, but I wasn't paying much attention anyway. Victoire and Teddy had pulled Dom into a victory hug, Roxy was on Molly's back, hooting and hollering. Potter, Julian, and Fred were jumping up and down, screaming like little girls. Pretty sure I heard Potter's voice crack. Layla Stratton was so excited that she pulled poor Potter away from his friends and kissed him square on the mouth, causing him to be a bit woozy the rest of the time that we cheered. Before I could do anything, someone had picked me up by the armpits and stuck me on someone's shoulders. I recognized blue hair as Teddy Lupin stood up, supporting me. I grinned, though my face had turned a shade of red I was sure wasn't subtle, and yelled along with the lot of them. I heard the Hufflepuff bloke yell, "Sorry for the surprise, but it was Dom's idea!" I saw Dom and Sawyer waving at me from the side, snorting at me, and I stuck my tongue out at the both of them. They knew I thought Teddy was a good-looking bloke. "I'm Teddy, by the way!"

I laughed as I yelled, "Holly McCall! It's nice to finally meet you!"

"I'd gathered that much! Dom talks about you, you know! Says you snarked off to James on the first day you met the twit! Brilliant!" I could see Teddy grin up at me as he tilted his head in my direction only slightly.

I couldn't help it. I felt my cheeks burn up and I was positive I was the color of a tomato. Dom and Sawyer were almost in hysterics. Tossers, they were.

After we'd gotten tired of screaming, Teddy put me down and the lot of us started to exit the stands. Our entire stand stuck together as we walked, Julian and Potter slightly ahead of us. That was when all hell broke loose.

"We'll win next time," said an arrogant voice from the crossing corridor. "Lovelace is a Mudblood. She got lucky, that's all. Donovan's a right brilliant seeker, must've had something in his eye or––"

Marshall Flint cut off as he ran straight into my brother. The git looked in horror at Julian and then at his robes. "Merlin's knickers, you've soiled my robes! I just got these washed, you wanker! Fletcher! Get them off of me!"

Flint's burly friend, Fletcher, helped him out of his robes and held them while Flint whirled angrily on my brother. He shoved him in the chest. "Watch where you're going, McCall," he spat.

Julian, the proud tosser he was, only shoved Flint back. "You watch where you're going, _Flint_. Maybe you need a set of specs so you can see where you're stepping."

Flint pulled his wand from his pants, his ugly face twisting into a snarl. "Why I ought'a hex you right here and now, McCall, you and your Mudblood sister." Flint had noticed me then, jerking his wand in my direction, and Julian had pulled out his wand as well.

I set my jaw, blood boiling, and took a step forward, but a hand wrapped around my arm. I looked back and saw Teddy Lupin shake his head. "Let the little Gryffindor take care of him," he muttered to me. "As Head Boy, I have to break this up…but no one's made a move yet, so…" I suppressed a snort as Teddy engaged in a rather one-sided conversation with Victoire, his eyes completely away from the predicament before us.

I wriggled my way out of Teddy's grip and stepped forward, but not too close. "Shut your slimy mouth, Flint!" I yelled. "Gryffindor won that match fair and square and you know it!"

"The only thing I know is that if Lovelace hadn't pulled that dirty trick, Donovan wouldn't be in the infirmary! Lovelace is a Mudblood though, so I don't put it past her – or the lot of you, really––"

I was moving my wand, fully ready to hex Flint, when my brother did the most un-wizardlike thing I'd ever seen.

Julian tossed his wand aside and socked Flint right in the nose, just as Dom had after the Sorting Ceremony.

"BOLLOCKS!" Flint yelled, stumbling back. He cupped his nose, which was dripping scarlet drops of blood. His friend Fletcher caught him as he fell backward and Flint shook him off. "Get off me, you big oaf! MCCALL!" he roared. " _FLIPEN––_ "

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Professor McGonagall came storming from behind us, her emerald cloak billowing. Madam Hooch was hot on her heels, as were Tracey Weller and Lance Jordan.

Just before she reached us, Teddy Lupin's eyes widened and he launched into action, placing himself between Julian and Flint. He stuck a hand on each of their chests and gave each a rough shove. "Quit it, now!" he hollered, and I knew he was yelling loud enough that McGonagall would hear.

"Oh, drop the act, Mr. Lupin." McGonagall waved her hand and sent a disappointed, yet humored look at Teddy. Teddy just grinned sheepishly and backed off.

Madam Hooch hurried Lance Jordan and Tracey Weller past us, and I'm pretty sure I saw Lance Jordan thump Julian on the back and mutter something along the lines of "Nice punch, mate" in his ear.

"Professor!" Flint yelled, instantly playing the wounded card. "Fletcher and I were just walking and McCall assaulted me!"

Everyone started shouting then. I think Potter and Fred were the loudest, arguing that Flint was a lying prat, while Roxy and Dom called Flint a smarmy git. I even heard Teddy toss in a few rather inappropriate descriptions about where Marshall Flint could shove it.

" _Quiet!_ " snapped McGonagall. "Mr. Flint, Mr. McCall, follow me, please. You as well, Mr. Lupin. I expect a full report of what happened. As for the rest of you…twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for causing a disruption! Now go on, all of you! To your common rooms, or the inter-House! Go!"

The rest of us scurried along rather hurriedly. Of course, I was worried about Julian, but not enough that I was going to stick around. I followed Dom and Roxy, Potter and Fred and the rest of the Weasleys close behind.

I'd only been at Hogwarts for two and a half months and I'd already seen Marshall Flint get punched in the nose twice. Merlin's beard, how was I going to survive an entire year with him, much less six more?!


End file.
